Industry and safety standards, as well as common sense, dictates that drivers of parked vehicles observe and ascertain that the area surrounding their vehicle is clear before the vehicle is started and moved. The obvious necessity for checking is to preclude an accidental impact with a nearby person or object. Such an impact besides resulting in personal injury or property damage may also lead to a legal action that can be financially disastrous to the driver and/or owner of the vehicle-particularly if the plaintiff can prove negligence on the part of the driver/owner. Because of the time constraints prevalent in the business world many drivers of commercial vehicles do not make or will make only a cursory observance of the vehicles surroundings which can and has led to such accidental impacts.
The state-of-the-art in commercial vehicles is to equip the vehicles with audible alarms that are activated only when the vehicle is placed in reverse gear and moved. This warning is adequate to alert most normal adults. However, children and adults with impaired hearing may have difficulty in understanding or hearing the warning sound. Additionally, an impact with an object cannot be prevented by an audible alarm. Safety procedures have also been adopted by many commercial carriers where use is made of rubber obstruction cones. These cones are placed by the driver at the front and rear of the vehicle when a work stop is made. The cones function to cause the driver to observe the surroundings of his vehicle when the cones are removed just prior to leaving the work stop. In theory this procedure is adequate. However, there is no assurance that the procedure will be followed and the practically of monitoring the drivers compliance to the procedure is, at best, difficult.
The prior art search did not disclose any invention that directly read on the instant invention. However, the following two patents are related:
______________________________________ PAT. NO. INVENTOR ISSUED ______________________________________ 4,240,071 Ochiai 16 December 1980 4,010,814 Adams 8 March 1977 ______________________________________
The Ochiai patent discloses a digital circuit for the prohibition of operating a motor vehicle by an intoxicated person. A steady control task, such as depressing the brake pedal, is imposed on the operator for a designated period of time as a means for evaluating his fitness to operate the vehicle. The Adams patent discloses an interlock system which prevents a vehicle engine from being started if a crew member is not present at a predetermined post remote from the driver. Indicators are provided for signalling the driver when the vehicle may be started.